Pingree Grove veteran creates 'Vietnam Grunts' Facebook group

Not talking about war is common among soldiers, but especially among Vietnam veterans who were mistreated when they came back from their tours of duty, Tom Jones says.

That was the impetus behind a "Vietnam Grunts" Facebook group the Pingree Grove resident created about five years ago that has now grown to more than 1,500 members.

"I get a lot of satisfaction out of it," Jones said. "Vietnam vets, when they came back, they were not treated very well. In fact, they were mistreated. It wasn't until the '80s that people started realizing you can't treat Americans like that for doing their duty."

Talking about shared memories and experiences is therapeutic for Vietnam veterans, he said.

"It's great to talk about it. Most problems (in life) are about communication," he said. "Vietnam vets, when they came back, they were essentially silent about their service because the war was unpopular, so they kept that inside. That added to the pain they experienced in the war."

Jones was drafted by the Army at age 19 in 1969 and was sent to Vietnam for a one-year tour with the 101st Airborne. Upon his return. he got a bachelor's degree from Northwestern University and worked for a long time as a counselor at the Elgin Mental Health Center.

He volunteers at the information desk at Advocate Sherman Hospital and serves on the hospital's newly formed Community Heroes committee, which comes up with ways to recognize patients who are veterans, such as posting tiny U.S. flags outside their rooms, he said.

Jones' Facebook group is active with 10 to 15 posts per day. Jones said he turns down lots of requests to join, such as from military re-enactors or people with no military service, although relatives of Vietnam veterans are allowed. "I turn down more than I admit," he said.

Jones has shared more than 200 photos from his tour of duty, which he took with a Kodak Instamatic camera, and he shares his ongoing research into the Vietnam War.

Jerome Burger of Buffalo, New York, said he joined Jones' Facebook group after Burger started to use the internet in 2016 and began searching for old buddies from Vietnam. He and Jones served in the same company but different in platoons.

"While I do not use the site to romanticize our times, I do find that it is good to touch base with the guys and to find out about how their lives have evolved," Burger said. "I know that when I left the 'Nam I made a choice to get on with my life, and not to dwell on that one formative year, I believe correctly so. So ... it is nice, and sometimes bittersweet, to drop in a 'hello' once in a while."